GameCareerGuide.com's Game Design Challenge: The Olympics

[08.27.08]- Manveer Heir

GameCareerGuide.com's Game Design Challenge is an exercise in becoming a game developer, asking you to look at games in a new way -- from the perspective of a game creator, producer, marketer, businessperson, and so forth.

Each Wednesday we'll present you with a challenge about developing video games. You'll have one week to brainstorm a brilliant solution (see below for how to submit your answers). The following week, the best answers and the names of those who submitted them will be posted along with some commentary.

The Challenge
Design a game whose primary goal is to keep players interested in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.
Assignment Details
You've been hired by a London advertising agency to create a new game to drum up interest in and support for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

After the massive show that was the Beijing Games, London has a lot to live up to. The agency knows it wants a game that will appeal to players for a long period of time, but will also invite new players to start at any time.

The ad team tells you it wants to foster the competitive spirit of the Olympics, while offering fair play for all.

They ask for a mini-game for one of the three most popular sports: gymnastics, swimming, or track and field, but to keep it simple and usable for most people, they say the mouse should be the only input device.

More importantly, you're told that community features are very important so that people can compete with one another and win prizes. Your game design must include ways of connecting players from different countries and promoting healthy competitiveness. All the materials will be delivered in English, but the ad agency plans to offer the game and its related web sites in a few other languages as well.

Because this project is ongoing, you will receive monthly payments from the agency, rather than lump sum upon deliverables. The organizers will also provide a monthly budget for prizes, both cash and products and services.
To Submit
Brainstorm together openly on the forum. As always, you have the option of working on a solution on your own or with others as a team. When you have a great idea for a four-year long game to promote the 2012 Olympics, type it directly into an email and send it to gamecareerguide@gmail.com with the subject line "Design Challenge: Olympics."

Please type your answer directly in the email body. Be sure to include your full name and school affiliation or job title, and try to keep your answers to 500 words or fewer -- unless they're really good!

Entries must be submitted by September 3, 2008.
The responses for this challenge will appear the week of September 8, 2008.

Disclaimer: GameCareerGuide.com is not responsible for similarities between the content submitted to the Game Design Challenge and any existing or future products or intellectual property.